Ranchi, May 22: Cheni Super Kings (CSK) reached the fil of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the sixth time as they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by three wickets in the qualifier 2 of the Twenty20 tourment at the JSCA Intertiol Cricket Stadium here on Friday.
Put in to bat, two-time runners-up RCB could only mage a modest total of 139/8 with left-handed opener Chris Gayle top-scoring with 41. Sarfaraz Khan also played a handy innings of 31. Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra was the pick of the bowlers for CSK as he picked up 3/28 from his four overs.
In reply of the small target, two-time champions CSK were driven by a patient knock from veteran Michel Hussey, who scored 56 from 46 balls. The left-hander shared a useful 47-run stand with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (26) to help his side reach home with three wickets and a ball to spare.
With this win, CSK set up Sunday's title clash with Mumbai Indians, who won the qualifier 1 against the same opponents on Tuesday.
Earlier, veteran pacer Nehra once again came good for CSK as he clinched 3/28 in his four overs, including the vital wickets of RCB skipper Virat Kohli (12) and explosive batsman AB de Villiers (1).
Nehra was well assisted by off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who ended with brilliant bowling figures of 4-0-13-1, scalping Mandeep Singh (4). The duo did not allow the RCB batsmen to accelerate at all.
Though left-handed opener Chris Gayle top-scored with 41, it wasn't his usual innings as he played 43 balls and hit only two boundaries and three sixes.
Two important cameos from wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (28) and Sarfaraz Khan (31) helped augment RCB's total at the end, but the top order failed to make an impact when it mattered the most. IANS